The Lufthansa Group — to which Switzerland’s national carrier SWISS belongs — charges different ticket prices depending on the departure location. Those flying from Switzerland usually pay higher costs.
According to an article in Tages-Anzeiger on June 8th, “ticket prices are a mystery at SWISS, as they are at other airlines. Many factors play a role, such as airport fees, fuel prices, general supply and demand, and even aircraft type and size. The bottom line is a structure that not even experts understand.”
What is, however, clear is that if you want to fly out of Zurich or Geneva on SWISS, you will have to pay “significantly more” than if you use airports in neighbour countries.
Up to 60 percent higher prices with SWISS
The newspaper focused on the different pricing methods of Miles and More — Lufthansa’s (and SWISS’) frequent flyer programme.
It works like this: passengers collect miles on flights with airlines that are part of the programme or when making purchases with a Miles and More credit card.
The collected miles can then be used to redeem rewards, such as free flights or upgrades, for instance.
But this is becoming more difficult for people in Switzerland.
As an example, in the past, a long-haul flight in business class used to cost the same (in terms of miles), regardless of whether it left from Zurich with SWISS or from Frankfurt with Lufthansa.
But this ‘equal treatment’ is no longer the case.
Now travelling from Zurich Hong Kong in business class costs 86,610 miles. But from Stuttgart or Cologne, only 52,304 miles. meed to be spent.
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Why are those departing from Swiss airports penalised?
According to Tages-Anzeiger, Miles and More justifies this approach with the different purchasing power, arguing that the Swiss are better off in this regard than Germans — €52,566 (49,300 francs) per capita in Switzerland versus €27,848 (26,120 francs) in Germany in 2024.
Based on these calculations, this adds up to a nearly 60-percent difference in purchasing power, which are reflected in Miles and More pricing.
But this difference in purchasing price-versus-costs doesn’t only apply to Germany.
The newspaper also reported that passengers from Switzerland “almost always” pay more than those in Austria, Italy, Belgium, and France.
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Can you circumvent this geographical bias?
Tages-Anzeiger recommends that crossing the border to the nearest foreign airport may be a way to cut prices.
This means that people living in Zurich could save money by flying out of Stuttgart airport instead; Ticino residents would do well to choose Milan; and those from Geneva could opt for Lyon.
“The detour can sometimes be financially worthwhile,” it said, the additional distance notwithstanding.
READ ALSO: How flying to the US from Switzerland is getting cheaper
